Editing Growth hormone (section)

===Deficiency===
{{Main|Growth hormone deficiency}}

The effects of [[growth hormone deficiency|growth hormone (GH) deficiency]] vary depending on the age at which they occur.  Alterations in [[somatomedin]] can result in growth hormone deficiency with two known mechanisms; failure of tissues to respond to [[somatomedin]], or failure of the [[liver]] to produce somatomedin.<ref name="Ignatavicius-2015">{{Cite book|title=Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care| vauthors = Ignatavicius D, Workman L |publisher=Saunders|year=2015|isbn=978-1455772551|edition=8|pages=1267}}</ref>  Major manifestations of GH deficiency in children are [[growth failure]], the development of a [[short stature]], and delayed sexual maturity.  In adults, somatomedin alteration contributes to increased [[osteoclast]] activity, resulting in weaker bones that are more prone to [[pathologic fracture]] and [[osteoporosis]].<ref name="Ignatavicius-2015" /> However, deficiency is rare in adults, with the most common cause being a [[pituitary adenoma]].<ref name="Molitch et al. 2006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Molitch ME, Clemmons DR, Malozowski S, Merriam GR, Shalet SM, Vance ML, Stephens PA | title = Evaluation and treatment of adult growth hormone deficiency: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline | journal = The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism | volume = 91 | issue = 5 | pages = 1621–34 | date = May 2006 | pmid = 16636129 | doi = 10.1210/jc.2005-2227 | doi-access = free }}</ref>  Other adult causes include a continuation of a childhood problem, other structural lesions or [[Injury|trauma]], and very rarely idiopathic GHD.<ref name="Molitch et al. 2006" />

Adults with GHD "tend to have a relative increase in fat mass and a relative decrease in muscle mass and, in many instances, decreased energy and quality of life".<ref name="Molitch et al. 2006"/>

Diagnosis of GH deficiency involves a multiple-step diagnostic process, usually culminating in GH stimulation tests to see if the patient's pituitary gland will release a pulse of GH when provoked by various stimuli.{{cn|date=November 2024}}